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He states at the figure that stands before him in the mirror. Scars littering his face, reminding him how useless he was to stop the pain, of how powerless he was to fight back, how scared and terrified he was when one of his captors came in with the torture weapons. He remembers how weak he was, just a little boy begging to go home to his mother and brother. Now he can't go home to them ever because they think that he's dead. He feels anger rising in his heart. They think he's dead because of them! He's got scars because of them!! He can't go home ever again because of them!!!He heard glass shattering. It breaks him out of his rage and when he looks up he finds his fist shattering the mirror. Fuck... He punched the mirror. The teenager signs and runs his crooked scarred hand over his buzzed head. He steps away from the broken glass and into the tiny kitchen of his little apartment. His shift was going to start soon. The boy had a job at a local flower shop. It was his favorite place to work besides the library. Two jobs, twice the money. He grabbed his keys and put on his shoes then pulled his hood down over his face. He thought it was ugly. The teen then shuffled out the front door and locked it behind him. Izuku Midoriya missed his family. His mother Inko, his twin brother Akatani Mikumo. He still remembers his mother's phone number. He even saved it in his phone so that when he was ready he could call them. The flower shop he worked at was only a block away from his apartment. He could get there in time for his shift all the time. Izuku opened the door and went inside. His boss didn't mind that he wore his hood, in fact all of Izuku's coworkers knew who he was and his background story. They even became his best friends. He never smiled though so they smiled for him. Remyah poked her head around the corner of the workers break room and her face split into a grin once she was him. "Zuku! I am so glad you're here now. Would you mind giving me a hand with these flowers? They're really heavy!" She asked, trying to carry a huge pot of Heath's. He hurried over and set them next to the Common Lilac's. "Thanks Zuku, you're a life saver." Remyah said in relief."Mhm." He mumbled in reply. He really wasn't much of a talkative person, even with his best friends. When they wanted to know his back story he pulled out an old news paper and only said four words. He's never said anything more than six words at a time. "Izuku... you should really go see them. I saw your mom passing the shop the other day, I could tell that even though she thinks you're dead, she misses you." She told him sternly. "I know, but I'm scared." He replied softly. He had escaped two years ago, yet he didn't go home to them. He didn't want them to say he was going to be okay, he didn't want them to say that everything would be okay. He wanted the real world facts. He wanted the truth. But as months passed he became afraid. Afraid of how they would react, afraid of what they would say. But when he was around his best friends he was a bit braver. A bit stronger. Remyah smiled softly at him. "What if I stay here and you call them." She suggested kindly, sitting down on the stool behind the counter.He took out his phone. Izuku stared at the contact number. He put it back in his pocket. "No, not right now. Later." He told her and went to work on watering the plants. Hours passed and soon it was time for him to go home. But first he needed to get some groceries from the store. Izuku pulled his hood on over his head and bid a good night to his coworkers. He strode down the street, alert and guarded, searching for any signs of trouble. He entered the store and looked through the food choices. It wasn't until a few seconds later did he realize he wasn't alone in the store. Coughing sounds made themselves known behind him. Izuku turned and found himself staring at a skeleton like man who looked ready to kick the bucket. After the man stopped coughing and tried to reach a pack of noodles on a high shelf. Izuku took pity on the man, went over and got the noodles off the shelf then handed them to the man. The skeleton man looked shocked a little bit smiled kindly at him. "Thank you, young man. I don't think I could've had dinner tonight had you not come along!" The man exclaimed. "No problem. You should eat more." He stated, then went back to gathering food for the week.
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It had been weeks since Remyah had told him to call his family and now he was standing in front of his mother and brother's apartment. He stared at the door for what it felt like hours then finally slid his letter underneath the door.Izuku walked away and to his own apartment. But not before he saw a familiar black haired pale boy with freckles being beaten up by a guy with wings and another kid with a quirk that could elongate his fingers. His brother was being bullied. He would not tolerate that at all. Izuku jogged over and pulled the kids off of his twin. "Leave. Him. Alone." He warned and pushed them in the opposite direction of Mikumo. The kids turned to glare at him but he just tilted his head just enough so they could see his face underneath the hood.The boys paled and ran. Izuku turned to his brother and carefully assessed the damage then picked him up and took him to his apartment.Mikumo was out cold. His uniform was torn and dirty. Izuku stripped his brother of his uniform and got Mikumo some of his clothes to wear. They were a size too big but they would have to do for now. He cleaned his scrapes and put some burn cream on what looked like fire burns. They coated his brother's torso and upper arms, as if someone had used a fire quirk on him. If they were caused by explosions then they would be star shaped. He cleaned up the dirt on his hands and face then bandaged the burns and went to fix his brother something to eat. It was half an hour later when his brother started to wake up. A groan of protest to the late afternoon light sounded from Izuku's bedroom. Izuku entered the room with food and water on a tray. His brother had snuggled deeper into the soft blankets. "Rise and shine. Food's ready." He declared, his expression hardening. He pulled down his hood some more so his brother couldn't see his face. "Wha? W-where am I?" Mikumo asked. "My apartment." He replied, setting a bowl of Soba on the night stand then walking out of the room.